Why Story Warren?

Don’t you hate it when people go straight to a section from The Lord of the Rings to explain something important in their lives? It reminds me of the part where the army of Gondor is overrun, hopeless, on the edge of defeat. Their allies in Rohan have not come to help, even though the ancient alarm was given. They are everywhere routed and their inactive leader has descended into madness. The wizard Gandalf takes charge of the city’s defense, but it’s not enough. The heroes of Gondor resolve to go down fighting in a glorious, hopeless battle. All is doom in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

I first read this incomparable book twenty years ago, but I remember this scene like it was last night. I was totally invested. I felt like one of those men of Gondor battling on in a hopeless struggle. The Witch-King enters the city and Gandalf alone stands before him, death and doom await the free peoples of Middle-Earth. The Witch-King speaks,

‘Old fool!’ he said. ‘Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’ And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.

Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. As if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.

The horns of Rohan! Their allies had come at last. I remember that feeling in my skin. Rohan rides in and turns the tide, the ancient ally of Gondor has not failed them at their most desperate hour. The battle is won.

This feeling of –incredibly, out of nowhere– finding an ally in the struggle of our lives, is unforgettable. Even in a tale.

Yesterday I celebrated 12 years of marriage with my wife. Of course, it would have been weird to celebrate it with anyone else. It was also Father’s Day, my 9th. We actually got married on Father’s Day weekend. How terrible is that? During the ceremony, after the “Who gives this woman” part, I solemnly drove a dagger into my father-in-law’s back. Thankfully, he’s a generous man, and he has not retaliated by taking her back. Anyway, the twin occasions celebrated are a harmonious expression of my primary vocations in life. I am husband. I am father. Only “I am a child of God” gets closer to my deepest identity.

Though I love and embrace these callings, it’s not easy to be either husband, or father. I don’t think you need any help understanding that. We’re all there. Parenting really is tough, and it doesn’t make you a spiritual sissy to admit it. Fathers and mothers know the struggle, don’t we? It’s kind of a battle out there. Foes without and fears within, not to mention potty training. Sometimes I think it’d be easier to actually train a potty.

Sometimes, it feels like there are land mines set up to impede our progress, or blow us up. We want to pass on to our kids the love of Jesus, hope, and happiness in him. We want to raise humble, happy, thankful, holy, and faithful kids. We receive this as a gift from God, and also work hard to be those kinds of parents.

I’m often befuddled when I think through what my kids will be exposed to. I sometimes despair, feeling as though I must choose between shallow, safe, so-called “Christian” media, and woeful, perverse, vapid trash. This is not precisely the case, but maybe you’ve experienced those fears. And there really is plenty of both.

How sweet it is when we discover a story, a record, a movie, or a play where our kids are seeing the very best of truth, beauty, and goodness. We see the truth we are longing for them to latch on to neither subverted, nor sanitized to death, but upheld. We feel there is someone on our side. It’s not a minefield; it’s the cavalry!

When my kids read The Chronicles of Narnia, I feel as though I hear the horns of Rohan. When my kids listen to Slugs & Bugs, or Andrew Peterson, I hear horns. When my three-year old listens to The Jesus Storybook Bible, I hear horns. When we all watch The Legend of the Guardians: horns. Rohan!

We are not alone! There are imaginative tales burrowing into our children’s hearts, past the “watchful dragons” of their minds, to inform who they are at the deepest levels.

Now, I don’t want to suggest that there is simply a cache of good material for children, and a pile of bad stuff for children. Of course it’s not that simple. But the fact remains that there are materials unsuited to children, and tales that reinforce the true, the good, and the beautiful –that ancient trio of virtue.

And that is what my wife and I want. We want to see virtue reinforced, not undermined. We want our children to experience stories that tell the truth about how God made the world. Many will say, “You can’t shelter them!”

Yes, you can.

You can do it the right way, God being merciful. I don’t want my kids to grow up in a dark, airless box, protected from everything and all the while suffocating. Nor do I want them to play hopscotch in a minefield. I want to provide for them the shelter of a mountainous maple tree. There’s protective shade, a long view in every direction, and it’s open and happy with plenty of crayons.

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis writes of Eustace Scrubb that he had “read all the wrong books.” Mainly, they were strong on modern political and technological advances, but they were “weak on dragons.” Eustace, because of the ignorance of his heart and the poverty of his imagination, becomes a dragon. Christianity is a dragon-fighting religion, and we need tales that inspire awareness of dragons, as well as the courage to oppose them. Not to mention love, honesty, and the proper response of the heart.

So, we need the right kind of stories. Ones that aren’t weak on dragons. But why stories?

There are many ways to connect children to truth and reality. One is filling their minds with information, information that is true and real. This might be as simple as saying, “Jesus is powerful.”

Another method is storytelling. When children meet Jesus in stories (true stories –like the four Gospels), they see him calm the sea, raise the dead, and turn water into wine. The story, like the wine at the wedding, goes down sweet and settles inside.

With information you get the idea, but it will always lack meaning unless it is connected to a story. When you tell the story, you usually get both. When Jesus raises Lazarus, you don’t have to say, “Jesus is powerful.” You experience it and have it in your heart. It has touched more than your mind, is more than stored. It becomes, like Lazarus, something that was dead, but now breathes.

This is what stories can do and be in the mind of a child. Children (and all of us) are suited to receive stories and for those stories to inform the imaginative life. How many of us have read a book, or seen a movie, and afterwards burned to do what we have experienced? (And we really have experienced it.) We want to be as bold as Luke Skywalker (without all the whining). We want to be as faithful as Samwise Gamgee, as pure in heart as Lucy Pevensie. Well, children don’t just aspire to great characters in the aftermath of stories, they inhabit them. They walk away and become what they love.

I see such creatures everyday, as I’m sure you do as well. My house overflows with hobbits, cowboys, merry men, and fairy princesses.

So, if they indeed become what they love, how important it is that what they inhabit is full of virtue. It is of utmost importance that we are not asleep at the tollbooth on this little avenue of imagination, this person-defining road to our children’s affections.

So, what about this place, this Story Warren? Why are we here?

——

We want to serve you as you seek to foster holy imagination in the children you love.

We want to do this primarily in two ways:

Mostly, we want to write and share posts that will inspire, encourage, and foster holy imagination in you. Trickle-down imagination! I don’t know about you, but I can’t give to my children what I don’t have. Children become engaged when we are engaged. Also, we need the very same thing. Our focus here will center on children, but most of that applies to us as well.

Secondly, we want to serve as a connection to storytellers, song-singers, teachers, and others who are doing this wonderful work. Imagine this place to be like Rick’s in Casablanca, except with way fewer Nazis. It’s a place to connect with others who are on the same road, to be exposed to some artists and authors who are potential allies in your battle.

We want to be champions of construction. There’s a million places on the internet to fight about stuff. (I know, I counted.) We don’t want to be another place where angry, anonymous people can prove they’re right on the internet. Grab a hammer, or a wheelbarrow. Leave the wrecking ball alone.

Let’s build together, loving the little ones by everything we make.

We may not be decisive, as the Riders of Rohan were in Gondor, in your life. We do not aspire to exactly that. We just want to be allies in your efforts, coming alongside and sharing our water canteens, maybe telling some dumb jokes. But we do truly hope God uses this place in your life for your deep joy and his great glory.

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Comments

I don’t want my kids to grow up in a dark, airless box, protected from everything and all the while suffocating. Nor do I want them to play hopscotch in a minefield. I want to provide for them the shelter of a mountainous maple tree. There’s protective shade, a long view in every direction, and it’s open and happy with plenty of crayons.

Yes! Thanks for putting this into words, Sam. And for inviting us along for the ride.

Absolutely and Amen. I am excited to see what you folks do here! Stories are incredibly powerful, and I crave more true and beautiful ones to share with my little ones. Praying for all of you who are involved here. And also reflecting that pee-free dining may not be a right but a privilege I hope to experience soon…

Ah, gentle encouragement that reading stories to my older kids (11 & 8) is still just fine. It’s tempting to drop the story time in lieu of ‘getting more done’, afterall, they are old enough to do more independent tasks…but it’s my favorite time of the day. Their favorite time of the day, so we continue to enjoy it. I appreciate the encouragement to keep entering into stories together.

I agree with Lori below—I hear the horns, horns, horns of Rohan in this post! I’m excited to tag along for the journey. I’d love a reading recommendation or two, as well as a few tips I can pass along to the novice dragon-killer playing outside.

Brilliant, Josh. Thanks, man. We will definitely feature some recommendations here in the weeks to come. For now, may I suggest a book chock full of them (what is chock, anyway?) from one of our contributors, Sarah Clarkson? https://store.rabbitroom.com/product/read-for-the-heart It’s excellent.

Don’t you hate it when people go straight to a section from The Lord of the Rings to explain something important in their lives? It reminds me of the part where the army of Gondor is overrun, hopeless, on the edge of defeat.

You made me laugh and groan at the same time with this bit, Sam. Great post, as usual.

Thrilled by this site already! I know exactly how your kids feel-as that is how I grew up feeling as I read through Narnia, LOTR, Star Wars and Watership Down (a pretty appropriate one given the titles here!). I have been collecting books for my little 2 year old, so he doesn’t have as much junk to sift through (although right now it seems he will only want to read automotive manuals, but we’ll see!). I look forward to more!

I *love* this blog, and I love this “why?” post!! How on earth did I miss knowing you had started this??????? (Sorry, I know you hate repetitive punctuation, but I didn’t want to just sit here and SHOUT AT YOU.) Great work, Sam. Really great work.

A resounding cheer from my clan. We are on board. Now, if we could just enchant all the others out there…or maybe I should agree with C.S. Lewis and wake the sleeping others from the enchantment they are under…

What an amazingly inspiring post!! Thank you! My boys are 10 and 12 and full of energy, imagination and curiosity. We still love read alouds in our home – I don’t think they will EVER outgrow them! (imagine two men in their thirties coming over to be read to???) I guess by then they will be the ones doing the reading. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragment to continue with good wholesome books and imagination.

Oh, how I love God’s perfect timing (…and witty, insightful posts…and worthy literature)! He’s working in and through you, as well as in me. I just finished reading A Thomas Jefferson Education yesterday, and this resonates loudly with my strengthened conviction for classics. Having read aloud The Jesus Bible Storybook and 7 “Narnias” with my young’uns (6.5, 5, and 3.5) so far this spring/summer, I look forward to what inspiration you have in store for us next. Blessings as you lead!

Do you want this site to discuss what things are suitable for children, and why? I am thinking of Michael D. O’Brien’s book on children’s literature that suggests that more than a compelling yarn and virtuous acts here and there are necessary for truly edifying reading; i.e., that there are certain symbols– like dragons– that should not be reconstructed into friendly pets etc. That the Harry Potter books– no matter how redemptive certain heroic actions might be, or how well written and/or engaging the yarn— are not good for us or our children given the transformation of traditionally evil symbols into things of goodness etc.
Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for the comments, Hamelin. I haven’t read any of O’Brien’s books, but I have read some very short excerpts. The dragon idea is pretty compelling to me, because of the Scripture’s narrative. Though I’m not sure I would take the same line. I don’t have the energy for a Harry Potter debate right now 🙂 but I can see how that idea makes sense and it concerns me as well to some degree. I think the symbols are important as well. But overall, I am an appreciator of the Harry Potter books (especially for older humans). What would be a good O’Brien book to start reading if someone is interested in checking out those thoughts?

Maybe I didn’t notice the last time I visited this page, but why do you have to bring up peas? I agree that pea-free dining is the right of all children, but my parents obviously didn’t get that teaching. I have a pea-shaped scar on my heart. Maybe a pea pod shaped scar. It was pretty traumatic.

Not often enough, I stumble upon truly beautiful places on the
blogosphere, and only wish I had more time for keeping up with all of them
regularly. I love having places to check-in for refreshment of one kind or
another! Indeed, this is one of those places.

“So, if they indeed become what they love, how important it is that what they inhabit is full of virtue.” Thank for putting into words what it is my parents’ heart has felt and known for some time now. This post (along with others I have perused) has renewed my dragon-fighting heart. And I shall carry on with read-aloud time in hopes of creating warrens for my own bunnies…

I just listened to you on Read Aloud Revival and everything you said resonated so deeply with me! I have five children who absolutely love reading, storytelling and music but we couldn’t quite put our finger on the void between “secular gunk” and Christian blandness. We were just left wanting. My teens would often ask me about it and I’d often suggest that if The Lord put this on their hearts that maybe they need to create something they’d like to read or sing.

Praise God that I heard about your work and I am eager to read The Green Ember with my kids tonight! Thank you!

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[…] first post at Story Warren sort of gave a big part of the vision for the site, so maybe read that if you are interested. It’s much more important than this one. But I thought I’d tell a little bit about how […]

[…] Andrew Peterson Week Posted by S.D. Smith on 27 Aug 2012 / 0 Comment Tweet Part of the heart behind Story Warren is serving parents (and others who care for young humans) as allies by connecting them to artists […]

[…] As we finished The Hiding Place, the children talked about what they would remember about the book. God’s provision in the midst of a horrible situation. The difference between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of Heaven. But the response that stopped me was when one of them said, “It helps us imagine what it looks like to trust God when really hard things happen.” I saw it happen. In my living room. My child is developing what my friend, Sam, calls “Holy imagination.” […]

[…] Why Story Warren. “This feeling of –incredibly, out of nowhere– finding an ally in the struggle of our lives, is unforgettable. Even in a tale…How sweet it is when we discover a story, a record, a movie, or a play where our kids are seeing the very best of truth, beauty, and goodness. We see the truth we are longing for them to latch on to neither subverted, nor sanitized to death, but upheld. We feel there is someone on our side. It’s not a minefield; it’s the cavalry!” Just discovered this site yesterday and have had fun poking around. Janet, I think you’d like it. […]